The Omen Prequel Is Happening at 20th Century Fox

The problem with most prequels is that the original never intended to show you what happened before the events deemed worthy enough to depict in a movie. But that isn't stopping the brain trust at 20th Century Fox from moving forward on The First Omen, a precursor to the 1976 classic that introduced Damien to the world. Antonio Campos, who made waves with his Sundance hit Christine (not a Stephen King remake) is in talks to direct.

A grown-up Damien is at the center of a new A&E horror series that debuted earlier this year, and 20th Century Fox already blew it with their critically panned remake of The Omen in 2006. So they're taking this long-standing horror franchise in a totally new direction. This next movie is produced by David Goyer and Kevin Turen under their Phantom Four banner. There are no story details. The movie will tell what happened before the birth of the Anti-Christ. It was reported back in 2014 that 20th Century Fox and Platinum Dunes were teaming up for a second remake. It doesn't appear that Platinum Dunes is involved with the prequel, which is the direction the project has decided to go in at this stage.

Gregory Peck headlined the original movie playing an Ambassador who comes to believe that his 5-year-old son is the living embodiment of the Antichrist. He then unsuccessfully attempts to stop the child's devilish murder spree. Richard Donner, the man behind such classic movies as Superman, The Goonies and Lethal Weapon, directed this first installment, which was followed by a number of sequels. The original The Omen was one of 1976's biggest box office hits, and it was deemed one of the scariest movies of all time upon its release.

Along with the two sequels that saw Damien grow up to take over the world, there were also a number of novels that followed Damien's story. The misguided remake from 2006 was directed by John Moore and starred Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. The Walking Dead's Glen Mazzara is behind the current A&E Damien series.

Ben Jacoby is writing the screenplay for The First Omen according to THR. Antonio Campos is not only known for his indie hit Christine, which stars Rebecca Hall and Michael C. Hall, he also directed the 2012 cult thriller Simon Killer. Before that he was a producer on the drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, which starred Elizabeth Olsen. At this time, The First Omen has no cast attached, and it isn't known when shooting may begin. No release date has been announced.